Featured Relics & Militaria
This a totally rare complete one off relic which is a heavily battle-damaged American Easy company M1 steel helmet which still has its spade badges on both sides which are still mostly clear to see. This is the rarest helmet i have ever had to sell and probably always will be. The helmet is associated with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and retains the distinctive white spade unit marking associated with Easy Company.
The helmet which is in relic condition but is mostly battle damaged with lots of splits and impact damage and has has bent over as well from the force of the explosion but is in remarkable condition for a relic. The helmet has bit of rust damage with a few some rust holes but nothing to bad. It is a solid piece which is not breaking up or falling apart it does not have any of its leather liner in place but does have some of its original green paintwork remains very clear to see it has been very nicely cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection. The helmet was recovered in the late 1980's or early 1990’s in a large wartime hole or position together with other American military equipment, including a substantial quantity of medical equipment and supplies. The mixed nature of the material suggests that the site was used as a temporary American field position or equipment cache during the fighting in the famous Foy woods which was fought over during the in battle of Bulge of December 1944 until January 1945..The helmet comes with 5 x A5 laminated information cards with map and many pictures with lots close up pictures of the helmet and its badge.
I myself have owned this helmet for 20 years and has been in my collection for that long i bought it directly from the man who recovered it himself and came directly out of his collection. I have seen some of his collection not all of it as some he would not show and what i saw is amazing he has been digging in the Ardennes forest for a very long time so i have a direct line of custardy and direct history of the helmet personally.
The recovery area lies within the Foy battlefield, where the 101st Airborne Division fought during the German Ardennes Offensive. Easy Company occupied positions in and around Bois Jacques and the woods overlooking Foy, enduring intense winter conditions, artillery fire and repeated German attacks. The fighting around Foy formed part of the wider defence of Bastogne and culminated in the American advance into the village in early January 1945.
Today, the helmet provides a remarkable physical link to the men of Easy Company and the brutal conditions they experienced in the Foy sector. Its severe fragmentation, penetrations, splits and deformation, combined with the surviving original Easy Company marking, make it a striking survivor from one of the most famous episodes of the Battle of the Bulge—the same history later brought to a worldwide audience through the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
This is a British soldiers Brodie helmet which has no liner in place but is dated 1941 on the chin strap holders also manufacturer/date marking 1761 over III which is all clear to see.
The helmet is not to badly corroded but is battle-damaged condition, including a large perforation through the crown with splits from the impact of the hit. The helmet is lightly rusty due to being in dry sand and hot weather and this is why it has no rust roles or rust damage but with extensive pitting and weathering, and desert sand retained beneath the rim, is consistent with prolonged exposure in the Egyptian desert environment. The helmet has no real paintwork remains but it is not rusted away it has been weathered away by the sand apart from a tiny bit inside which looks green with some yellow over the top but there really is not much at all but it still retains some original colour in places mostly the rim. The helmet has been very nicely cleaned is lovely and solid not braking up or falling apart and is perfect for display or any collection. This a very rare relic from the famous North African battlefield of 1942-1943 and comes with 4xA5 laminated information cards with many pictures and all the information possible.
The helmet was recovered from the El Alamein battlefield in 2009 by Egyptian-Sahara.com, an expedition and battlefield-tour company that operated in Egypt during the late 2000s and early 2010s and specialised in expeditions to the El Alamein battlefield. Contemporary Egyptian-Sahara promotional material supplied with the helmet provides supporting provenance for its recovery and shows the company documenting and displaying battlefield relics from the area. The accompanying leaflet is retained as supporting documentary evidence of the company and its El Alamein battlefield activities.
El Alamein was the scene of the decisive Second Battle of El Alamein, fought from 23 October to 11 November 1942, when the British Eighth Army under General Bernard Montgomery launched a major offensive against German and Italian forces commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. After fierce fighting across the desert, the Axis forces were forced to withdraw westwards. The victory halted the Axis advance towards Egypt and the Suez Canal and became a major turning point in the North African Campaign. The helmet therefore represents a tangible surviving artefact connected to the British and Commonwealth forces that fought in this strategically important desert theatre.
Recently Added Relics & Militaria
This is a large electrical component which is solid rubber made which has all of its electrical connectors still connected and is dated 1943 on the back and maker marked as well.
The part is 8 inches long and 3 half inches wide in size it has some damage from the crash and being buried but nothing bad. The part still has lots of original colours it is still very solid and have been very well cleaned it is perfect condition for display or any collection.
The part is from German Messerschmitt 262 jet shot down by an American P51 fighter on 18 April 1945, Southwest of Prague, Czechoslovakia and crashed at Vltava.The parts come with 2 X A5 laminated information cards with pictures and map.
On 18 April 1945, American P-51 Mustangs of the USAAF’s 357th Fighter Group were operating over the Prague area. Major Donald H. Bochkay of the 363rd Fighter Squadron was credited with shooting down an Me 262 during the fighting that day. Czech crash-site research links this victory to a jet that fell in woodland near Trnová, southwest of Prague, close to the Vltava River.
The crash in the Vltava valley
The Me 262 was hit during the aerial engagement and came down in a wooded ravine on the slope above the Vltava. Local accounts place the crash at approximately 13:45 on 18 April 1945. The aircraft broke apart and burned on impact, scattering wreckage through the forest. The location was later examined by Czech aviation-history researchers, who reported finding small pieces of airframe and parts associated with the aircraft’s armament. The aircraft’s Werknummer (factory number) has not been securely established in the available accounts.
The pilot: Ulrich Wöhnert
Czech research identifies the pilot as Leutnant Ulrich Wöhnert, although the identification is generally presented as probable rather than conclusively proven. The evidence concerning his fate also requires care. One American combat account reportedly recorded that the pilot did not escape, but Czech local-history research describes a German lieutenant parachuting from the burning jet near Oleško. A local gendarmerie record is said to document the pilot being detained after landing. This evidence suggests that Wöhnert may have survived the crash with minor injuries, but the pilot’s identity and the exact circumstances should be described as probable unless supported by further primary documentation.
This is a lovely clean and very rare to find nice pair of aluminium airframe sections both have some lovely clear to see paintwork remains black also white and some undercoat paint as well.
This pair of lovely condition larger size sections of airframe structure with rivets attached, they have all of there nice original colours they have been nicely cleaned the parts have ripped and bent by the impact of the crash, the parts are perfect for display or any collection, the parts are 6-7 inches long in size and one section is a few parts still attached together..
The pair of airframe parts are from German Messerschmitt 262 jet shot down by an American P51 fighter on 18 April 1945, Southwest of Prague, Czechoslovakia and crashed at Vltava. The parts come with 2 X A5 laminated information cards with pictures and map.
On 18 April 1945, American P-51 Mustangs of the USAAF’s 357th Fighter Group were operating over the Prague area. Major Donald H. Bochkay of the 363rd Fighter Squadron was credited with shooting down an Me 262 during the fighting that day. Czech crash-site research links this victory to a jet that fell in woodland near Trnová, southwest of Prague, close to the Vltava River.
The crash in the Vltava valley
The Me 262 was hit during the aerial engagement and came down in a wooded ravine on the slope above the Vltava. Local accounts place the crash at approximately 13:45 on 18 April 1945. The aircraft broke apart and burned on impact, scattering wreckage through the forest. The location was later examined by Czech aviation-history researchers, who reported finding small pieces of airframe and parts associated with the aircraft’s armament. The aircraft’s Werknummer (factory number) has not been securely established in the available accounts.
The pilot: Ulrich Wöhnert
Czech research identifies the pilot as Leutnant Ulrich Wöhnert, although the identification is generally presented as probable rather than conclusively proven. The evidence concerning his fate also requires care. One American combat account reportedly recorded that the pilot did not escape, but Czech local-history research describes a German lieutenant parachuting from the burning jet near Oleško. A local gendarmerie record is said to document the pilot being detained after landing. This evidence suggests that Wöhnert may have survived the crash with minor injuries, but the pilot’s identity and the exact circumstances should be described as probable unless supported by further primary documentation.
This is a lovely clean and very rare to find nice pair of aluminium airframe sections both have some lovely clear to see paintwork remains black and some undercoat paint as well.
This pair of lovely condition larger size sections of airframe structure they still have all of there nice original colours they have been nicely cleaned the parts have ripped and bent by the impact of the crash, the parts are perfect for display or any collection, the parts are 5 inches long in size.
The pair of airframe parts are from German Messerschmitt 262 jet shot down by an American P51 fighter on 18 April 1945, Southwest of Prague, Czechoslovakia and crashed at Vltava.The parts come with 2 X A5 laminated information cards with pictures and map.
On 18 April 1945, American P-51 Mustangs of the USAAF’s 357th Fighter Group were operating over the Prague area. Major Donald H. Bochkay of the 363rd Fighter Squadron was credited with shooting down an Me 262 during the fighting that day. Czech crash-site research links this victory to a jet that fell in woodland near Trnová, southwest of Prague, close to the Vltava River.
The crash in the Vltava valley
The Me 262 was hit during the aerial engagement and came down in a wooded ravine on the slope above the Vltava. Local accounts place the crash at approximately 13:45 on 18 April 1945. The aircraft broke apart and burned on impact, scattering wreckage through the forest. The location was later examined by Czech aviation-history researchers, who reported finding small pieces of airframe and parts associated with the aircraft’s armament. The aircraft’s Werknummer (factory number) has not been securely established in the available accounts.
The pilot: Ulrich Wöhnert
Czech research identifies the pilot as Leutnant Ulrich Wöhnert, although the identification is generally presented as probable rather than conclusively proven. The evidence concerning his fate also requires care. One American combat account reportedly recorded that the pilot did not escape, but Czech local-history research describes a German lieutenant parachuting from the burning jet near Oleško. A local gendarmerie record is said to document the pilot being detained after landing. This evidence suggests that Wöhnert may have survived the crash with minor injuries, but the pilot’s identity and the exact circumstances should be described as probable unless supported by further primary documentation.
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This is a very rare large glass-framed air crew issued P38 pistol holster remains which is the back section of the holster it is maker marked with its waffen stamp and P38 mark as well. The black leather has very little discolour and damage from being buried the part is still very solid condition not braking up or falling apart and has been mounted in a glass-fronted box frame measuring 17 half inches long by 17 half inches wide making it perfect for display or a collection.
The holster remains was recovered from the wreckage of German Heinkel He 111 of 2./KGr 126, Werknummer 5709, which was shot down during a night operation over the London area. The aircraft was destroyed at approximately 2:00 am on 16th October 1940 after being intercepted by a British night fighter.
The Heinkel He 111 was engaged on a minelaying sortie over the Thames Estuary when it was intercepted and shot down by a Boulton Paul Defiant of No. 264 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer F. D. Hughes with Sergeant F. Gash as air gunner. The bomber crashed and exploded at Creaseys Farm, Hutton, near Brentwood, at approximately 2:00 am on 16th October 1940.
Leutnant K. Newald and Gefreiter H.-J. Granetz successfully bailed out and were captured uninjured. Unteroffizier K. Glaser and Gefreiter J. Twrdik remained aboard the aircraft and were both killed in the crash.
This is a rare and evocative Battle of Britain relic with excellent provenance, making it a superb addition to any Luftwaffe, Battle of Britain, or Second World War collection.